Method and apparatus for stacking tortilla chips

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for stacking curved, triangular snack food chips, e.g., tortilla chips, for packaging in a sleeve-type container. The chips are fed into a first, U-shaped vibratory chute, which automatically causes the apex corners of the chips to extend beyond the opposing base edges of adjacent chips and which automatically orients the chips such that lines about which they are curved are oriented parallel to the longitudinal direction of the U-shaped chute. The chips are then fed into a W-shaped chute, with the chips facing in opposite directions falling automatically into opposite troughs of the W-shaped chute. The chips are then automatically reoriented by 120° such that their upturned apex corners point in the direction of travel, and the chips are stacked automatically as they slide up along one another in a shingled manner.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatusfor processing snack food chips. More particularly, the inventionrelates to a method and apparatus for stacking curved tortilla chips ina uniform stack which then can be packaged neatly and compactly, e.g.,in a cylindrical can or other sleeve-type container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Tortilla chips are one of the more popular types of snack foodproducts and have come to be associated with having a triangular shape.Additionally, snack food chips which are used for dipping, e.g., potatochips, tortilla chips, or corn chips, preferably are curved to enhancethe scooping ability of the chip as well as to add strength to the chip.

[0003] With respect to packaging, a stacked arrangement of snack foodchips has been found to be popular. The typical triangular shape of atortilla chip, however—particularly a curved tortilla chip—previouslyhas prevented tortilla chips from being packaged in a stackedarrangement in an efficient, automatic process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention provides a method and apparatus forautomatically arranging curved, triangular snack food chips such astortilla chips in a neat, compact, stacked arrangement which is suitablefor packaging the chips in a cylindrical can or other sleeve-typepackage. According to the invention, the chips are transported along avibrating U-shaped chute, oriented in an alternating arrangement. Thevibrating U-shaped chute automatically ensures both proper orientationand positioning of the chips in that the chips slide laterally such thattheir centers of gravity are at the bottom of the chute and such thatbase edges of the triangular chips are oriented parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the U-shaped chute. The chips then fall into aW-shaped vibrating chute, with the chips originally having oneorientation automatically being caused to fall into the troughconstituting one half of the W-shaped chute and the chips having theopposite orientation automatically being caused to fall into the othertrough constituting the other half of the W-shaped chute.

[0005] The chips then travel along the W-shaped chute by sliding alongtheir base edges, i.e., with their opposite, upturned apices pointingperpendicular to the direction of travel of the chips. The tortillachips are then caused to rotate by 120° such that the upturned apices“lead” as the chips continue to progress. This configuration permits thechips to slide into nested, stacked relationship automatically, in whicharrangement the chips can be packaged easily in a stacked configuration.

[0006] Thus, in a first aspect, the invention features a method ofstacking curved, generally triangular tortilla chips for subsequentpackaging, e.g., in a sleeve-type package. The method entailstransporting a succession of the chips along a direction of travel, andwhile transporting the chips, causing them to be oriented such thattheir apex corners point in the direction of travel. The chips are thencaused to become stacked automatically by virtue of the apex corner ofone chip sliding up and over the base edge of the preceding chip in thesuccession such that they come into a stacked, nested arrangementautomatically.

[0007] In preferred embodiments, the chips are oriented properly bysliding down a J-slide from one conveyor to another. Alternatively, thechips can be allowed to tumble over the end of the first conveyor ontothe second conveyor.

[0008] In another aspect, the invention features a method of segregatingthe chips into separate lines or successions of chips based on thedirection in which the chips point (as indicated by their upturned, apexcorners). The method entails transporting the chips in a given directionof travel and causing the chips to be oriented such that the line aboutwhich each is curved is substantially parallel to the direction oftravel. The chips are also caused to move laterally, relative to thedirection of travel, such that their centers of gravity become generallyaligned. (This may be done simultaneously with the step of causing thechips to be oriented such that their lines of curvature aresubstantially parallel.) At this point, the straight base edges of thechips pointing in one direction will all be aligned, and the straightbase edges of the chips pointing in the opposite direction will all bealigned, and the apex corners of the chips pointing in one directionwill extend laterally beyond the base edges of the chips facing in theopposite direction and vice-versa. The chips are then segregated intotwo separate conveyor troughs by being tripped or partially flipped bymeans of their apex corners into the troughs, with the chips pointing inone direction going to one conveyor trough and the chips pointing in theother direction going to the other conveyor trough.

[0009] In preferred embodiments, the chips are both oriented and causedto move laterally simultaneously by transporting them along the bottomof a vibrating U-shaped chute, the radius of curvature of whichpreferably matches the radius of curvature of the chips. Additionally,the conveyor troughs are provided by means of a W-shaped chute, and thechips are tripped or partially flipped into one side of the “W” or theother.

[0010] In combination, these two aspects provide a method of segregatingand stacking curved, generally triangular chips such as tortilla chips.

[0011] In another aspect, the invention features an apparatus forsegregating and stacking for subsequent packaging a succession ofcurved, generally triangular chips. The apparatus features a first,vibratory, generally U-shaped conveyor chute which feeds into a second,generally W-shaped conveyor chute. The W-shaped conveyor chute has meansfor rotating the chips by about 120°, and the apparatus includes twoaccumulator conveyors which receive chips from the W-shaped conveyorchute and which automatically accumulate and stack the chips in anested, stacked arrangement.

[0012] In preferred embodiments, the first, U-shaped conveyor chuteincludes a pair of fingers extending from its downstream end, and thefingers are positioned above the two troughs of the second, W-shapedconveyor chute to trip or flip the chips into one trough or the otherdepending on the orientation of the chips. Additionally the W-shapedchute preferably is vibratory, as are the accumulator conveyors. Themeans for rotating the chips can be J-slides which transfer the chipsfrom the troughs of the W-shaped chute to the accumulator conveyors or,alternatively, the chips can be allowed to tumble over the edge of theend of the W-shaped chute onto the accumulator conveyors.

[0013] By employing the various inventive concepts disclosed herein, itis possible to produce curved, triangular chips such as tortilla chipsin alternating directions (which is the most efficient way to maketortilla chips) and then stack them automatically, conveniently, andreliably to be packaged in a popular sleeve-type container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The invention will now be described in greater detail inconnection with the drawings, in which:

[0015]FIGS. 1 and 2 are a plan view and a side view, respectively, of acurved, triangular tortilla chip to be packaged using the method andapparatus of the invention;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a plan view of the upstream portion and part of themiddle portion of the apparatus of the invention, and FIG. 3a is a planview of the relevant portion of an alternative configuration thereof;

[0017]FIGS. 4 and 5 are section views of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3taken along the lines 4-4 and 5-5, respectively;

[0018]FIG. 6 is a plan view of the downstream end of the middle portionof the apparatus of the invention where it joins the upstream end of thedownstream-most portion of the apparatus of the invention;

[0019]FIGS. 7 and 8 are a side view and an end view, respectively, takenalong the lines 7-7 and 8-8, respectively, in FIG. 6 and showing theJ-slide used to transfer the tortilla chips from the middle portion tothe end portion of the apparatus of the invention and simultaneously tore-orient them;

[0020]FIG. 9 is an “edge-on” side view illustrating the endmost portionof the apparatus of the invention, at which point the tortilla chips areautomatically being stacked;

[0021]FIG. 10 is a section view illustrating the endmost portion of theapparatus as shown in FIG. 9, taken along the line 10-10 therein;

[0022]FIGS. 11 and 12 are side views, analogous to FIG. 7, showingalternate embodiments of the apparatus of the invention; and

[0023]FIG. 13 is a section view taken along the lines 13-13 in FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, a tortilla chip 10 customarily has anequilateral triangular shape. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 2, tortillachips preferably have a certain amount of curvature, which can beimparted to the chips by frying or baking in a curved mold. It will beappreciated that the two edges of the triangle 12 and 14 will be curved,whereas the opposite, “included” edge will be straight. For purposes ofdescribing the invention, the straight edge will be referred to as thebase edge B, and the opposite corner of the triangle will be referred toas the apex A.

[0025] Furthermore, it will be appreciated that because the chip is anequilateral triangle, its center of gravity 16 will be located one-thirdof the distance between the base and the apex. Additionally, assumingthe tortilla chip has a circular arc of curvature, it will be curvedabout a line or axis of curvature 20. With this configuration andnomenclature, it will be understood that if one were to lay one of thecurved tortilla chips on a table, it could rock on its “back” surface 22(FIG. 2), and if one were to press the base edge B down against thetable, the apex A would be upturned.

[0026] In general, because of their triangular shape, tortilla chips canbe (and generally are) cut from a dough sheet in an alternating pattern,i.e., with the apex corners facing in alternating directions. (As aresult, there is no “lace” between successive tortilla chips, and thishelps to reduce wasted dough.) With the invention, tortilla chips soproduced can be kept in such an alternating arrangement, which lookslike the four leftmost chips shown in FIG. 3, as the chips aretransferred out of their cooking molds.

[0027] After they are cooked, the curved, triangular tortilla chips 10are transferred from their molds to a generally U-shaped, vibratingchute 30 (FIG. 3), the upstream end 32 of which is slightly higher thanthe downstream end 34. Preferably, the radius of curvature of the inner,concave surface 36 of the U-shaped chute matches the radius of curvatureof the convex, “back” surface 22 of the tortilla chips 10. The tortillachips may be transferred from the cooking apparatus into the U-shapedchute 30 either automatically or by hand, whichever is more convenient.If transferred automatically, the chips will be arranged relativelyuniformly, as are the four leftmost chips shown in FIG. 3; if, on theother hand, the chips are transferred to the chute by hand, they willtend to be oriented and positioned somewhat more randomly, as are themiddle two chips shown in FIG. 3. Regardless of how the chips aretransferred to the U-shaped chute 30, the invention has been found towork quite well.

[0028] As the U-shaped chute vibrates, the tortilla chips will movedownstream, from left to right as shown in FIG. 3, because the upstreamend 32 is located slightly higher than the downstream end 34. Moreover,because the center of gravity of each chip is closer to the base edge Bthan it is to the apex A, the chips will slide transversely relative tothe longitudinal axis of the U-shaped chute such that their centers ofgravity move to the bottom of the chute, as illustrated at the right endof the U-shaped chute in FIGS. 3 and 4. This causes a lateral ortransverse “segregation” of the chips such that the apices A of thechips are laterally offset relative to the base edges B of adjacentchips, as shown at the downstream end 34 of the U-shaped chute.Moreover, because the curvature of the U-shaped chute preferably matchesthe curvature of the tortilla chips, the tortilla chips also will orientthemselves automatically such that the base edges B are alignedsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the U-shaped chute30, i.e., with the line 21 (FIG. 1) passing through the center ofgravity 16 and parallel to the base edge of the chip aligned over andextending along the bottom of the trough 30. This feature isparticularly advantageous when the chips are loaded into the chute 30 ina manner which does not result in them being as aligned as might bedesired, e.g., by hand.

[0029] After they are laterally segregated and properly oriented, thetortilla chips drop from the U-shaped chute 30 into a W-shaped chute 40.As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a pair of fingers 42 extend slightly from thedownstream end of the U-shaped chute over the two troughs 44, 46 whichare formed by the two halves of the W-shaped chute 40. As shown in FIG.5, the fingers 42 are attached to the convex, undersurface of theU-shaped chute, e.g. by welding, and they are laterally spaced such thatthe apices of the laterally separated tortilla chips “hang up” on thefingers as the chips slide off of the downstream end 34 of the U-shapedchute and drop into the W-shaped chute 40, as illustrated by the chipshown in dashed lines in FIG. 3. As a result, the chips are “flipped”slightly over the vertex 48 of the W-shaped chute, and theyautomatically fall alternatingly into the opposite troughs 44 and 46.Thus, all chips having their apices facing in one direction fall intoone of the troughs, and all chips having their apices facing in theopposite direction fall into the other trough. The chips slide downalong the slanted inner walls 50 of the W-shaped chute, and their baseedges B butt up against the sidewalls 52 with the apices positioned nearthe vertex 48 of the W-shaped chute. See FIG. 5.

[0030] As an alternative to the fingers 42, the U-shaped chute maysimply have a rectangular notch 43 cut out of the downstream end of it,as shown in FIG. 3a. In that case, the U-shaped chute, per se, wouldextend slightly over the upstream end 54 of the W-shaped chute 40.

[0031] Like the U-shaped chute 30, the W-shaped chute 40 vibrates, andits upstream end 54 (see FIG. 3) is elevated slightly relative to itsdownstream end 56 (see FIG. 6). Accordingly, the tortilla chips slidealong the slanted inner walls 50 from left to right as shown in FIGS. 3and 6. Because the tortilla chips are oriented with their apicespointing up, however, such that they move transverse relative to thedirection in which the apices “point”, they can not be stackedautomatically at this point.

[0032] As I have discovered, part of the key to being able to stackcurved triangular tortilla chips automatically is to orient them suchthat the apices “lead” as the chips travel downstream. Accordingly, itis necessary to rotate the tortilla chips 120° relative to theorientation they have in the W-shaped chute. This is accomplishedeasily, effectively, and reliably by means of the structure illustratedin FIGS. 68.

[0033] In particular, at its downstream end 56, the W-shaped chutesplits, and each trough thereof terminates in a J-slide 60 which leadsthe tortilla chips to generally straight (i.e., longitudinallyextending), V-shaped vibratory accumulator conveyors 62. As the chipsreach the downstream end of the W-shaped chute, they slide down theJ-slides 60 onto the accumulator conveyors 62.

[0034] The tortilla chips slide down the J-slides with their base edgesB against the sidewalls 52 of the W-shaped chute 40 and, as illustrated,they rotate as they slide down. This results in the tortilla chipslanding against upstanding guide walls 66 of the accumulator conveyors62 with what had been their “leading” corners L (FIG. 6) striking theguide walls first, but with the tortilla chips now rotated byapproximately 90°. As the tortilla chips slide all the way down alongthe slanted support walls 68 and come to rest against the guide walls66, they continue to rotate about the previously leading corners L andcome to rest against the guide walls 66 with their apices A now rotated120° forward (relative to the direction of travel of the chips). Thus,the apices A now point in the direction in which the chips aretraveling.

[0035] Because the upstream ends 70 of the accumulator conveyors 62 (seeFIG. 6) are slightly higher than the downstream ends 71 (see FIG. 9),the tortilla chips will move from left to right as shown in FIGS. 6, 7,and 9 as the accumulator conveyors vibrate. As shown in FIG. 9—which isan “edgeon” view looking straight down along the slanted support wall 68of the top accumulator conveyor of the two shown in FIG. 6 (as indicatedby the arrows 9-9) and showing the accumulation of tortilla chips at thedownstream end thereof—the tortilla chips move along the slanted supportwall 68 of each accumulator conveyor until they reach end wall 72 at thedownstream end 71 of the accumulator conveyor.

[0036] Because the apices, which are now leading, are upturned, thefirst tortilla chip to reach the end wall 72 will slide up along the endwall 72 such that it is resting on its base edge B with its apex Apointing up. As the next tortilla chip slides into the first tortillachip, because its apex corner A is upturned, it will slide into and upalong the concave, front surface of the tortilla chip in front of it andit, too, will come to stand on its base edge B. In this manner, all ofthe tortilla chips automatically will “shingle” themselves and slideinto a nested, stacked arrangement, as shown at the downstream end 71 ofthe accumulator conveyor 62.

[0037] In addition to re-orienting the tortilla chips by 120° such thattheir apices lead as the chips travel along the accumulator conveyors62, it is also key to the success of my invention to maintain thisorientation; the V-shaped construction and orientation of theaccumulator conveyors ensures that this requirement is met. Inparticular, because the support walls 68 are slanted relative tohorizontal as seen in section in FIG. 8 (in addition to being slantedslightly relative to horizontal from the upstream end of the accumulatorconveyor to the downstream end), the tortilla chips will slide downalong them until they come to rest against the upstanding guide walls 66(which define the V-shaped cross-section in conjunction with the supportwalls 68) with the curved edges extending between the previously leadingcorners L and the apices A (see FIG. 6) resting flush against the guidewalls 66. (The chips are shown in FIG. 6 as spaced slightly from theguide walls 66; this is for clarity only.) Because the edges rest flushagainst the guide walls 66 and the weight of the chips keeps them there,the tortilla chips are unable to spin or rotate as they vibrate alongthe length of the accumulator conveyors and the required, apex-firstorientation necessary for automatic stacking is ensured. (Were thevibratory accumulator conveyors simply flat sheets, the curved orupturned shape of the tortilla chips would make them particularly proneto spinning because, in that case, the chips would make contact with theconveyors only along the line of tangency between their convex backsurfaces 22 (FIG. 2) and the conveyors.)

[0038] Preferably, the angle φ between the guide walls 66 and thesupport walls 68 (see FIG. 8) is on the order of 65°, i.e., slightlylarger than the corner angles of the tortilla chips. (See FIG. 10.) Thisangle helps to maintain the proper orientation for the chips to “shingleup” on themselves, and because the angle is only slightly wider than thecorner angle of the tortilla chips, it keeps the chips aligned andoriented properly for subsequent packaging while at the same timeallowing a slight amount of “play,” which is important to prevent chipbreakage.

[0039] Once an appropriate amount of tortilla chips have been sostacked, they are packaged by suitable packaging means (not shown),e.g., an apparatus which can load the tortilla chips into a cylindricalcan or other sleeve-type container. As an additional benefit of theinvention, the tortilla chips once again will automatically start toshingle themselves into proper stacked arrangement for furtherpackaging—without the need for operator intervention—after the processhas been interrupted for such packaging (or for some other reason). Thisis in contrast to other automatic food product stackers, such as crackerstackers, which require an operator to intercede and re-start thestacking process every (or nearly every) time it is interrupted.

[0040] It will be appreciated that one may depart from the embodiment ofthe inventive method and apparatus discussed above without departingfrom the scope and spirit of the invention. For example, it will beobserved from FIG. 6 that the overall width of the conveying lineapproximately doubles when the line transitions from the W-shaped chuteto the two accumulator conveyors. On a commercial scale set-up of theinvention, it is contemplated that there could be as many as thirty-sixto forty-eight such lines; accordingly, the amount of floor space takenup by the accumulators could be large.

[0041] To conserve floor space, rather than J-slides 60, the downstreamend of the W-shaped chute could terminate abruptly, as shown in FIG. 11.In that case, the tortilla chips would simply be permitted to rotate by120° as they tumble over the downstream-most bottom edge 41 of theW-shaped chute and onto the accumulator conveyor 62. If this approach isused, it is recommended that the angle e between the inner slanted walls50 of the W-shaped chute (see FIG. 5) be decreased such that the chipsassume more of an upright, standing-on-end configuration to ensure thatthey spin around their centers of gravity as they fall off the end ofthe W-shaped chute.

[0042] If one desired more control over the tumbling chips but stillwished to achieve the space savings of the embodiment shown in FIG. 11,one could maintain the J-slides at the downstream end of the W-shapedchute but decrease the angle e to approximately 5° to 10° such that thetortilla chips are standing straight up as they enter the J-slideportion. In that case, as illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13, it issuggested that retaining tongues 63 be fastened in place, spacedslightly from the inner slanted walls 50 of the W-shaped chute, to forma narrow gap or passageway 65 through which the chips slide down ontothe accumulator conveyors and to prevent the chips from falling off ofthe W-shaped chute by tumbling over the side walls 52.

[0043] Moreover, although the invention has been described andillustrated above using a tortilla chip production run in which thetortilla chips enter the U-shaped chute 32 in alternating fashion, i.e.,with the apices of the tortilla chips pointing toward one side of theU-shaped chute and then the other in alternating fashion, this is notnecessary for obtaining the benefit of the invention. For example, thetortilla chips could be stacked after passing through a seasoningapparatus in which they are relatively spread out, and the seasoningapparatus would then feed the tortilla chips onto the U-shaped chute 30.In that case, it will be appreciated that the chips will have a ratherrandom orientation pattern in the chute. Alternatively, it isconceivable that tortilla chips could be fed into the U-shaped chute 30with just a single orientation, i.e., with all apex corners A facing thesame direction. In that case, all chips would fall into the same trough44 or 46 of the W-shaped chute and would be stacked on a singleaccumulator conveyor.

[0044] Other modifications likely will occur to those having skill inthe art and are deemed to be within the scope of the following claims.

I claim the following:
 1. A method of stacking curved, generallytriangular chips for subsequent packaging, each of the chips beingcurved about a line extending parallel to a first, base edge of the chipand having an upturned apex corner opposite the base edge, said methodcomprising the steps: transporting a succession of said chips in adirection of travel; while transporting the chips, causing them to beoriented such that the apex corners point in the direction of travel;and causing the chips to become stacked automatically by causing theapex corner of one chip in the succession to slide over the base edge ofthe preceding chip in the succession such that the chips automaticallyslide into a stacked, nested arrangement.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein before the chips are caused to be oriented such that the apexcorners point in the direction of travel they are transported with theirapex corners pointing in a direction generally perpendicular to thedirection of travel.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the chips arecaused to by oriented such that the apex corners point in the directionof travel by being rotated in a plane by approximately 120°.
 4. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the chips are transported by a first conveyorwhile their apex corners are pointing in the direction generallyperpendicular to the direction of travel and wherein the chips arecaused to be oriented such that their apex corners point in thedirection of travel by sliding down a J-slide from said first conveyorto a second, accumulator conveyor.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein thechips are transported by a first conveyor while their apex corners arepointing in the direction generally perpendicular to the direction oftravel and wherein the chips are caused to be oriented such that theirapex corners point in the direction of travel by tumbling over an end ofsaid first conveyor onto a second, accumulator conveyor.
 6. A method ofsegregating for subsequent packaging a succession of generallytriangular chips, each of the chips being curved about a line extendingparallel to a first, base edge of the chip and having an upturned apexcorner opposite the base edge, the apex corners of some of the chips inthe succession pointing in generally one direction and the apex cornersof the other chips in the succession pointing in generally the oppositedirection, said method comprising: transporting the chips in a directionof travel; causing the chips to be oriented such that the line aboutwhich each chip is curved is substantially parallel to the direction oftravel; causing the chips to move laterally relative to the direction oftravel such that their centers of gravity become generally aligned, thebase edges of the chips pointing in one direction become generallyaligned with each other, and the base edges of the chips pointing in theopposite direction become generally aligned with each other, whereby theapex corners of the chips pointing in one direction extend laterallybeyond the base edges of the chips facing in the opposite direction andvice-versa; and separating the succession of chips into two separateconveyor troughs by tripping or partially flipping the chips by means oftheir apex corners, with the chips pointing in one direction going toone conveyor trough and the chips pointing in the other direction goingto the other conveyer trough.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein thechips are transported along the bottom of a vibratory U-shaped chute andthe chips are caused to move laterally relative to the direction oftravel such that their centers of gravity become generally aligned, thebase edges of the chips pointing in one direction become generallyaligned with each other, and the base edges of the chips pointing in theopposite direction become generally aligned with each other by means ofvibrating the U-shaped chute.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the twoseparate conveyor troughs are provided by means of a W-shaped chutehaving a vertex and wherein the chips are tripped or partially flippedso as to fall over the vertex and into one trough or the other.
 9. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the chips are transported along the bottom ofa vibratory U-shaped chute and the chips are caused to move laterallyrelative to the direction of travel such that their centers of gravitybecome generally aligned, the base edges of the chips pointing in onedirection become generally aligned with each other, and the base edgesof the chips pointing in the opposite direction become generally alignedwith each other by means of vibrating the U-shaped chute; wherein thetwo separate conveyor troughs are provided by means of a W-shaped chutethat is aligned with the U-shaped chute, is disposed generally below anend of the U-shaped chute, and has a vertex; and wherein the chips aretripped or partially flipped so as to fall over the vertex and into onetrough or the other by means of a pair of fingers extending from an endof the U-shaped chute.
 10. A method of segregating and stacking forsubsequent packaging a succession of curved, generally triangular chips,each of the chips being curved about a line extending parallel to afirst, base edge of the chip and having an upturned apex corner oppositethe base edge, the apex corners of some of the chips in the successionpointing in generally one direction and the apex corners of the otherchips in the succession pointing in generally the opposite direction,said method comprising: transporting the chips in a direction of travel;causing the chips to be oriented such that the line about which eachchip is curved is substantially parallel to the direction of travel;causing the chips to move laterally relative to the direction of travelsuch that their centers of gravity become generally aligned, the baseedges of the chips pointing in one direction become generally alignedwith each other, and the base edges of the chips pointing in theopposite direction become generally aligned with each other, whereby theapex corners of the chips pointing in one direction extend laterallybeyond the base edges of the chips facing in the opposite direction andvice-versa; separating the succession of chips into two conveyor troughsby tripping or partially flipping the chips by means of their apexcorners, with the chips pointing in one direction going to one conveyortrough and the chips pointing in the other direction going to the otherconveyer trough; while continuing to transport the chips in twosuccessions by means of said conveyor troughs, causing the chips to beoriented such that the apex corners point in the direction of travel;and causing the chips in the two successions to become stackedautomatically by causing the apex corner of one chip in each of the twosuccessions to slide over the base edge of the preceding chip in each ofthe two successions such that the chips automatically slide into astacked, nested arrangement.
 11. An apparatus for segregating andstacking for subsequent packaging a succession of curved, generallytriangular chips, the apparatus comprising: a first, vibratory,generally U-shaped conveyor chute for transporting the chips and havingan upstream end and a downstream end; a second, generally W-shapedconveyor chute comprising two troughs, said second conveyor chute havingan upstream end and a downstream end, the upstream end of the secondconveyor chute being positioned to receive chips from the downstream endof the first conveyor chute and configured to receive chips into both ofsaid troughs for transport thereby; means for rotating the chips byabout 120° in a plane about their centers of gravity; two accumulatorconveyors which automatically accumulate and stack the chips in anested, stacked arrangement, each of the two accumulators beingpositioned to receive chips from one of the two troughs of the W-shapedconveyor chute.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a pairof fingers extending from the downstream end of the first, U-shapedconveyor chute and positioned above the two troughs of the second,W-shaped conveyor chute to trip or flip each of the chips into onetrough or the other depending on the orientation of each of the chips.13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the downstream end of the first,U-shaped conveyor chute has a notch disposed above the upstream end ofthe second, W-shaped conveyor chute and configured to trip or flip eachof the chips into one trough or the other depending on the orientationof each of the chips.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second,W-shaped conveyor chute is vibratory.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11,wherein the accumulator conveyors are vibratory.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the means for rotating the chips comprise J-slideswhich transfer the chips from the troughs to the accumulator conveyors.17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the means for rotating the chipscomprise a lower edge of the downstream end of the second, W-shapedconveyor chute and wherein the downstream end of the second, W-shapedconveyor chute is positioned sufficiently above the accumulatorconveyors that the chips rotate by approximately 120° as they tumbleover said lower edge and onto the accumulator conveyors.